Valiant Journey

The Hanley Award For Vision And Leadership In Sustainable Housing

If The Hanley Award were simply an honor for creating an influential body of architectural work or for contributions to technical research and innovation in buildings, Mazria’s accomplishments in these areas alone would shine.

If The Hanley Award were simply an honor for creating an influential body of architectural work or for contributions to technical research and innovation in buildings, Mazria’s accomplishments in these areas alone would shine.

In this passive solar home Mazria brought a new level of design into play illustrating the integration of simple direct-gain elements in a more interesting and complex architectural form and shape that blends with its surroundings.

In this passive solar home Mazria brought a new level of design into play illustrating the integration of simple direct-gain elements in a more interesting and complex architectural form and shape that blends with its surroundings.

In this passive solar home Mazria brought a new level of design into play illustrating the integration of simple direct-gain elements in a more interesting and complex architectural form and shape that blends with its surroundings.

Built in the city’s historic district, La Vereda was the first passive solar townhouse development in the country and includes 27 units that cascade down a south-facing slope. The pioneering project was widely viewed as a milestone in solar design and construction.

Built in the city’s historic district, La Vereda was the first passive solar townhouse development in the country and includes 27 units that cascade down a south-facing slope. The pioneering project was widely viewed as a milestone in solar design and construction.

Built in the city’s historic district, La Vereda was the first passive solar townhouse development in the country and includes 27 units that cascade down a south-facing slope. The pioneering project was widely viewed as a milestone in solar design and construction.

In 2002 Edward Mazria founded Architecture 2030, a non-profit education and research organization. The group’s 2030 Challenge, setting a timeline and roadmap for the building industry to achieve carbon-neutral peformance levels by 2030, has been widely adopted by industry, government, and educational leaders, and its targets have been included in emerging energy and building codes, and state and federal legislation related to climate change initiatives.

Built on the former estate of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, Sol y Sombra was designed as a foundation headquarters and meeting center. The greenhouse contains three climate zones. The grounds include water harvesting and a constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment.

Built on the former estate of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, Sol y Sombra was designed as a foundation headquarters and meeting center. The greenhouse contains three climate zones. The grounds include water harvesting and a constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment.

Built on the former estate of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, Sol y Sombra was designed as a foundation headquarters and meeting center. The greenhouse contains three climate zones. The grounds include water harvesting and a constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment.

This mountain home was the first residence to incorporate a number of passive solar strategies into one building, including direct gain, thermal storage walls, and an integrated sunspace coupled to a rock storage bin.

Mazria’s research at the University of Oregon formed the basis of his book, published in 1979, that became the bible of solar design. Its success worldwide is due to the way it presents complex, technical information in very understandable and applicable language.

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Looking back on Edward Mazria’s 35 years of remarkable leadership in environmental design and energy consciousness, we can be grateful that fate lit his path so well, and that he chose to follow it so passionately. But Mazria’s journey has been anything but a straight course, from his serendipitous entry into architecture and solar design; through his prolific years as a pioneering passive solar researcher, architect, author, and professor; to becoming one of the leading voices in a revolutionary battle against climate change.

At every crossroad, Mazria faced choices that could have led him in very different directions, but his instinctive timing, creative restlessness, persistent curiosity, and ever-deepening architectural conscience and vision conspired along the way to transform his career choice into his life’s work. The twists and turns of this journey add richness to Mazria’s story and depth to his contributions, all of which have led to his selection as the first recipient of The Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership in Sustainable Housing—the industry’s premier award for extraordinary, lasting, and far-reaching contributions to the advancement of sustainable housing in the U.S.

“Edward Mazria has had a powerful impact on sustainable design,” says Michael J. Hanley, founder of The Hanley Foundation and creator of the award. “He has influenced innovative advances in design and technology through his creative architecture, energetic teaching, and groundbreaking writing. And Ed’s current mission with his non-profit Architecture 2030 brings his vision and leadership to a new level. We’re thrilled to name him as our first recipient.”

The Hanley Award is sponsored by The Hanley Foundation, EcoHome, and EcoHome’s parent company, Hanley Wood, and will be presented to Mazria along with its $50,000 grant Nov. 12 during the USGBC’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Phoenix.

If The Hanley Award were simply an honor for creating an influential body of architectural work or for contributions to technical research and innovation in buildings, Mazria’s accomplishments in these areas alone would shine. But the award and Mazria’s significant impact go well beyond his buildings. His early research and architectural work in the 1970s form the basis of understanding for concepts that are unmistakable in the details and principles applied in today’s high-performance homes. Design concepts promoted by today’s sustainability leaders are rooted in Mazria’s 1979 milestone The Passive Solar Energy Book, which translated complex solar and building performance engineering data into an understandable vocabulary.